Method and apparatus for selecting detection of changes in samples by integrated optical interference
OwnerWalter Lukoszinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
In an integrated optical interference method, polarized laser light is incoupled into a planar waveguide, propagates in the waveguide as a guided wave, which consists of two mutually coherent, orthogonally polarized modes, interacts at least once with the sample, which is applied to the surface of a section of the waveguide called measuring section, and subsequently is outcoupled out of the waveguide. The time dependent phase difference .DELTA..PHI.(t) between the two orthogonal polarization components of the outcoupled light is measured with a device comprising photodetectors and polarization optical components.
Claims23
Integrated optical interference method in particular for the selective detection of substances in liquid, gaseous, or solid samples, and/or for the measurement of changes of the refractive indices of liquid and gaseous samples, and/or of ion concentrations, comprising the steps of:
- coupling polarized laser light into a thin optical planar waveguide or a thin strip waveguide in such a way, that two mutually coherent and orthogonally polarized modes are excited, which propagate in the waveguide as a guided wave together on the same path and which thereby interact at least once with the sample applied to the surface of the measuring section of the waveguide, that said guided wave is outcoupled out of the waveguide, and that the phase difference .DELTA..PHI.(t) between the mutually orthogonal polarization components s and p of the outcoupled light, which are produced by the two orthogonally polarized modes, is measured as a function of time.
Apparatus for performing a method of integrated optical interference for the selective detection of substances in liquid, gaseous, or solid samples, and/or for the measurement of changes of the refractive indices of liquid and gaseous samples, and/or of ion concentrations, comprising the steps of:
- coupling polarized laser light into a thin optical planar waveguide or a thin strip waveguide in such a way, that two mutually coherent and orthogonally polarized modes are excited, which propagate in the waveguide as a guided wave together on the same path and which thereby interact at least once with the sample applied to the surface of the measuring section of the waveguide, that said guided wave is outcoupled out of the waveguide, and that the phase difference .DELTA..PHI.(t) between the mutually orthogonal polarization components s and p of the outcoupled light, which are produced by the two orthogonally polarized modes, is measured as a function of time;
- said apparatus comprising A) a thin planar waveguide or a thin strip waveguide, in which at least two orthogonally polarized modes can propagate, whereby the substrate is preferably either planar or cylindrical, and B) preferably one or several spherical or cylindrical lenses in the path of the incident laser light, and/or fibre waveguides, preferably polarization preserving fibre waveguides, for the guidance of the incident laser light and/or the guidance of the outcoupled light, and C) polarization optical components--for example, polarizers, Wollaston prisms, and phase retardation plates--furthermore beam splitters, and photodetectors in the path of the outcoupled light for the measurement of the phase difference .DELTA..PHI.(t) between the polarization components s and p.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.